The Lagos State Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 governorship election, AbdulAzeez Olajide Adediran popularly known as Jandor, has filed a notice of appeal challenging the September 25 judgment of the state election petition tribunal.
The 38-page document dated October 13, with 34 grounds of appeal was filed by his team of lawyers led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Clement Onwuenwunor.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Labour Party and its Candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour were all listed as respondents in the notice of appeal.
In the grounds of appeal, Jandor said that “Contrary to the misleading conclusion of the tribunal, the issue of disqualification of the winner of an election is both a pre and post-election dispute and that it was highly erroneous of the tribunal to treat it as merely a pre-election issue”.
The candidate and his party also reiterated the reliefs in their petitions, asking for the disqualification of the candidates of both the APC and Labour Party.
Jandor also faulted the tribunal for striking out the Labour Party and its candidate from his petition especially as he had made several allegations of infractions against Rhodes-Vivour.
He noted that the law acknowledges that everyone against whom an allegation is made, must be made a party in such an action.
Jandor insisted that contrary to the holding of the tribunal, since he had also alleged that the sponsorship of Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour was invalid, the tribunal must invalidate that candidacy before he could take benefits of their unpardonable infractions.
The PDP candidate in his appeal also said that he deserved to raise issues in the tertiary qualifications of Governor Sanwo-Olu which were built on false A Level WAEC certificates as demonstrated in some of the exhibits he placed before the court.
Among other reliefs, he wants the Court of Appeal to hold that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to hold that the different names in the different certificates presented by Sanwo-Olu belong to one and the same person.
That at the time of the Governorship Election of Saturday, March 18, 2023, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat were not qualified to have contested the election.
That all the votes recorded for both candidates and the APC in the said election were wasted votes owing to the non-qualification of both men to have participated in the election.
That the candidate of the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, was also not qualified to have contested and all votes recorded for him and his party in the said election as the second highest number of votes cast at that election, were wasted votes owing to his non-qualification.
That Jandor having scored the third highest number of votes in the Election and having satisfied the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 is the validly qualified candidate to be returned as the winner of the said election.
That the Certificate of Return issued to Sanwo-Olu is null, void and of no effect and that it may be determined and declared that INEC shall forthwith issue the Appellant, Dr. Azeez Olajide Adediran, with a Certificate of Return as the duly elected Governor of Lagos State.
